Devil's Advocate
by emimprov
Summary: An alternate take on Johnny and Tess's conversation in the dungeon, yielding a chance for both of them. But with the mysterious forces controlling the wall reaching their breaking point, will those chances amount to anything?
1. The Deal

Note: An alternate version of Tess and Johnny's conversation…with unexpected results. I've always found that to be in interesting scene, and I thought I would expand on the concept a bit. We'll see where it goes. Oh yes, and I've also borrowed a line from the comic since I love it so much…couldn't leave it out. Ah-hah. Also, I do not own Johnny, Dillon, Tess, etc…they are all property of Jhonen Vasquez. As if you did not already know that. With that out of the way…

**Devil's Advocate**

**Chapter 1: The Deal**

She could only remember a sharp jolt of pain followed by darkness. Darkness and the occasional splash of light as she blinked now and then, having been dragged for over a mile. She now awoke to a dank and rotting room, dim light playing off of the walls. Her neck and back ached miserably. When she tried to move forward, she found herself stopped short by chains that enclosed her hands and feet, holding her fast to the cold wall. Blinking, she could not bring the rest of the room into focus, as her glasses had slipped off of her nose and were lying just out of reach on the floor.

One thing was for sure: this was not turning out to be the evening that Tess had in mind. Resisting the urge to scream, she tried to think. She and Dillon were just walking back from the movies when—

"Ugh…wha…where are we…?" Dillon's voice cut into the silence abruptly, unnaturally. Tess swung her head to the right to see that her boyfriend was hanging from the wall in roughly the same fashion as she was, the only difference being that several wires extended from behind him, leading to what looked like an old-fashioned lever to Tess's left. Dillon continued to mumble, and Tess's remonstrations only served to bolster his confidence.

"Where…where are we, Tess? What the fuck am I doing in these chains? I want answers, dammit! WHO DID THIS?"

"Keep your voice down!" Tess whispered harshly. "Don't you see it's not helping?"

"I DON'T CARE! Someone's going to have to come down here eventually, and when they do, I'm going to kick their fuckin' ass!" Dillon struggled against his restraints once more, his only reward being the loud rattling of the chains. He settled back against the wall, uttering one last profanity for good measure. "Fuck…"

Tess sighed and leaned back, as best she could, against the wall. Dillon seemed to have quieted down for a bit, and she used this time to try to piece together what had happened prior to them being chained up in this unfamiliar room. They had been walking out of the movies when they had been jumped by someone following them…a thin, lanky man dressed all in black. Yet he wasn't entirely unfamiliar…

"It was that fucking goth kid!" Dillon yelled suddenly. "Now I remember! He followed us out of that Kafka flick and…" Ignoring his ironic labeling of their assaulter as "goth," Tess lashed out, exasperated.

"Just shut the hell UP, alright? We don't know that for sure…we don't even know where we ARE, Dillon."

"How can you be so calm right now? I tell you, as soon as I see that kid, I'm going to fuck him up beyond all recognition!"

"I heard that." Both Tess and Dillon jumped at this new voice, which seemed to be coming from somewhere to Tess's left. She squinted and saw that a pool of light now illuminated an open door and a staircase that led upwards. Standing in the light was an extraordinarily thin young man, his spiky dark hair swept precariously over his face. This did not obscure his eyes, however, which were narrowed menacingly in their direction. His dark clothing seemed to blend into the background, lending his appearance a terrifying, supernatural quality. He paced noiselessly over to Dillon, his cloak flaring out behind him. Dillon blinked in surprise at their captor's sudden appearance, rendering him silent only for a moment.

"It WAS you! Let me out of this thing, you fucking psycho!" Johnny stood within arm's reach of Dillon, but with his hands shackled against the wall, he could do little but strain.

"You aren't in any position to be making demands," Johnny said softly, striding back over to the entrance. He rested his hand lightly upon the lever that Tess had noticed earlier, flexing his fingers as if he hadn't used them in a while. "Looks like I will have to teach you." In one fluid motion, Johnny pulled the lever, and Dillon screamed and shook as if with an electrical shock and then slumped forward, his hair singed. Tess had remained speechless throughout this whole exchange for fear of what else this man could do, but she could hold her tongue no longer.

"You…you didn't kill him, did you? Wha-why…?"

With a look of extreme incredulity, Johnny sighed and swept his hair back. His hand rested on his neck, as if this was some daily occurrence that he was explaining to an ignorant child. "No. He's not dead. Yet."

"But why are you doing this? And only to him? What did we do?"

"You're telling me you don't remember this cretin laughing and carrying on in the theatre? I couldn't hear myself think, much less hear the movie that I was attempting to watch! Fucking people."

Tess shook her head, hardly believing her ears. Despite the absurdity of the situation, she couldn't shake the feeling that she knew him from somewhere, had seen him somewhere before. "This is why we're here? Because Dillon was…"

"Being an ass," Johnny offered. "You're catching on."

"Okay, yeah, maybe he was being an asshole. A real asshole." She paused. "But…but that's hardly a reason to torture someone!"

Johnny looked at her wryly. "I believe that is where we differ in opinion. You really should choose your friends more wisely…but he'll come in handy sooner or later." With another swift movement, he flicked on the wall light, illuminating the room in its entirety. Tess shut her eyes to the sudden brightness, opening them to see, however blurrily, the opposite wall of the room. To her disgust, it was covered in a shimmering red substance that could only be…blood.

"So it's you! You're the one who's been killing all of those people."

"Yes, yes…I've been doing all of that," replied Johnny nonchalantly. "But I'm also the creative force behind Happy Noodle Boy, so forgive me and shut up."

"Hmm, right. I couldn't help but notice that you only shocked Dillon, though…not that I'm complaining or anything."

"You're collateral damage, I'm afraid. Guilty by association, as it were."

"So…what? Am I just going to be carved up for display as well?"

Johnny scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Good question. I'm not exactly sure yet. I'm actually in quite a good mood right now. It's a beautiful night. Anything could happen! In fact, I think I'll spare you the humiliation of joining…_Dillon_ as extra material for the wall. That doesn't entirely let you off the hook, though."

_Oh joy_, thought Tess.

"No, I won't need your friend for a while, seeing as I just painted it yesterday," he said rather cheerfully as Tess took in the sight of the crimson wall. "Good thing I passed those circus clowns on the way home." Walking forward, Johnny stopped a few paces from the wall itself. He appeared to be scrutinizing its surface, placing his hand against the plaster. When he spoke again, it wasn't to Tess, but to the room itself, and perhaps even to the wall in front of him.

"I've got to keep doing it, and I will…I've got to paint it with blood. If I don't, something terrible will happen. But…but who am I to believe that? What if I just left it? Fuck it! I'll kill someone because _I_ want to, not because I'm subordinate to some higher force! …Shut the hell up, Eff! I know I fucked up!" Having been unnervingly calm and even somewhat amiable a moment earlier, he was now almost manic in his inner discourse, shrieking nonsensically at no one but the wall. He pounded it for effect, his other hand clasping his hair in barely contained rage. "I-I just want a Brainfreezie right now."

"Yes! That's where I know you!" Tess blurted. "Brainfreezies! I've seen you in the bookstore…the one near the 24/7. With a Brainfreezie…" She trailed off as he stalked over to her, his eyes wide.

"You've WHAT?"

"I-I…I've seen you!" she repeated. "The-the bookstore…talking to Devi, and--"

"Devi?" The name seemed to trigger a strange response in Johnny, and he stepped back from Tess, cocking an unsure eyebrow at her. He was almost talking to himself again. "No…no. This doesn't make sense. Not now, not now when I'm so close to obliterating emotion. You know Devi?" His hands now gripped her shoulders tightly

"Sort of…why does it matter?" Completely flabbergasted by her captor's fluctuating moods, Tess could only think to keep the conversation going, as she had recently noticed a rack further down the wall that held what looked suspiciously like butcher's knives. She didn't doubt that he knew how to use them.

"Why does it matter?" Johnny yelped, releasing her shoulders. "It was the _only_ thing that mattered to me. I…I didn't immortalize the moment. _They_ wanted me to. And now…she'll have nothing to do with me."

_Immortalize the moment? They?_ Tess thought. _I have no idea what he's talking about, but maybe I can get out of this yet._

"What if I said I could help you find her? Talk to her, even?"

For the first time since he could remember, Johnny was rooted to the spot. He blinked slowly, wrestling with his inner demons as they pondered this turn of events. Unknown to Tess, of course, Mr. Eff and Psycho Doughboy vied for Johnny's attention, altering his emotions accordingly with their constant salvo of comments.

_Why not, my boy?_ snickered Mr. Eff._ What better way to get the job finished? Wipe out that last hurdle! No more emotions to get attached to…admit it, they've been holding back your true potential!_

_Oh, you know better than to listen to his shit, Nny! What good will that do? You're better off killing both of them and ending it now! And after all that work on that gun contraption upstairs…you're going to just abandon it? Foolishness!_

"Shut the hell up, both of you!" Johnny snarled. "I know what I'm doing."

A bit unnerved by this outburst, Tess nevertheless ventured her suggestion one last time. "Uhh…about letting me out of here and helping you, Mr…?"

Looking at her decisively, Johnny nodded. "Call me Nny."

_Author Note: Well…I tried to keep in character for the most part, though Johnny may have been a bit shaky at times. I'm trying to take a different path from the "suicide" portion of issue #4, and I'm in the process of working it out. And yes, Dillon will get what's coming to him. Reviews/comments of any kind would be greatly appreciated! (And might speed up my writing of another chapter.)_


	2. Alliance and Temptation

Note: So I'm back from the dead with another chapter. I've got some new ideas that will hopefully come to fruition as the plot moves along, but here it is. Review as always, if you wish.

**Chapter Two: Alliance and Temptation**

After unlocking Tess' manacles, Johnny strided over to the rack on the wall, scrutinizing it closely. She stood where she was uneasily, perturbed by his presence. When she looked once more, she realized that a vast assortment of cruel-looking tools adorned the wall, one of which was a huge katana. Tess swallowed nervously. The fact that he was also testing the sharpness of the knives with his finger did nothing to mollify her fears.

Suddenly, Johnny grasped one of the larger knives and thrust it in her direction. Instinctively Tess shrieked and leapt back, almost falling over in her giddy state. Johnny had no intention of stabbing her, however; he stared at her incredulously as she regained her composure.

"What the hell are you doing?" he said, offering the knife once more. "Who knows what kinds of thugs are wondering around this time of night? You might need this." She took the knife reluctantly, still not comprehending the overwhelming irony of the situation. She doubted that any "thug" she had ever encountered was half as dangerous as Johnny. It did not seem likely that he would harm her, though, at least not until she took him where he wanted to go.

"Well, it's just that, y'know, you shocked us both and dragged us back here. Dillon's in a coma and now I'm taking up arms to go for what sure as hell isn't looking like a nice night stroll. Sorry if I'm a little jumpy."

To her surprise, Johnny chuckled, tugging the katana from the wall and slipping it into a rather conspicuous sheath at his side. "Nothing's nice where I'm involved." The doughboys had ceased their arguing for a bit, so he felt freer, more liberated than he had before.

Tess blinked at the size of the weapon that Johnny had chosen. "Isn't that…kind of obvious? What are you expecting out there, anyway?"

Again Johnny gave her that look of bewilderment. He narrowed his eyes. "No one has ever stopped me in the streets, and no one ever will. I have reason to believe that I _can't_ be caught, no matter what I do. And it does well to spite the doughboys like this. They would hate for anyone to stop me or to catch on, though I guess Psycho Doughboy does want me to kill myself."

"Doughboys?" she asked, truly confused.

"My…friends, I suppose you could say," Johnny replied, shrugging. "A bit difficult to explain, really. They think going with you is a bad idea, so I'm going to prove them wrong."

Shaking her head, Tess decided not to comment too much on the eccentricities of her captor. She was lucky enough not to be in the same state as Dillon, not to mention the same state as the countless others who had met their fates at his hands. She had no idea what had caused him to trust her, but his oscillating mood could not be trusted. She would have to be careful.

At that moment, Johnny gestured jerkily to Tess, motioning her to follow him up the stairs. She did so, albeit somewhat reluctantly. She had little desire to see what else Johnny kept in his house…if she could call it that. The floorboards creaked under their feet as they climbed to the next landing, which was lit with a single flourescent bulb. The light washed across a bloodstained room cluttered with all sorts of torture devices, from a rack to a rather rusty iron maiden. Tess averted her eyes lest she notice anything humanlike still clinging to one of the machines. Johnny paced across the room as if there was nothing unusual about it, stopping at the bottom of the next set of stairs.

"You coming? Tess?"

Tess started at the sound of her name, and hurried to keep pace with Johnny as he ascended the set of stairs. He had sounded almost cordial then; Tess could not tell if he had just calmed down, or if he really felt any remorse for what he had put her through. Her emotions ran the gamut from scared to death to half-determined, since the hope of escaping had presented itself to her. Would he really let her go, though? What was so important about Devi anyway? She had time to ruminate on this as they climbed the unnaturally long staircase.

This time they reached a room that contained nothing but a table with a phone and two Styrofoam figures leaning against the back wall. What drew Tess' attention, however, was the strange contraption attached to the back of the phone. It appeared to be some sort of mechanism holding a gun, controlled with a set of springs. Johnny looked to where she was staring and commented drily.

"And that is to persuade me never to answer the phone. As if someone would ever call here anyway."

As if his words had triggered some sort of strange reaction, a cackling laugh issued from one of the figures. Tess could hardly believe her ears. It sounded as if the figure itself was laughing, but this was no happy outburst. It was high and cold, full of malice.

"And you better hope that you don't have to use that thing, Nny. What a waste of potential. You could, however, put that girl to good use. The wall's getting hungry." Mr. Eff goaded Johnny gleefully, his voice now reverberating menacingly around the room.

"What the fuck is this?" Tess blurted, forgetting her place for a moment. "Johnny…"

Johnny, however, was standing stock-still, glaring at the Styrofoam figurine with a look of utmost hatred. "I've only been able to hear you in my head before now…since when have you been able to speak?"

"Oh, so Nailbunny doesn't creep you out with his levitating, but when Eff and I start to talk, you act as if you've seen a ghost," interjected Psycho Doughboy. "Not that I agree with his shit, but still. It begs the question a bit."

"That's because Nailbunny isn't trying to FUCK with my mind!" Johnny shouted. "And you two, no matter how powerful you're becoming, are through with dragging me along on puppet strings. I'M running things now. And if I choose not to paint the wall, then it won't be done. And you'll have to answer to your 'master' when he realizes that you can't control me anymore."

"That's what you think, but you'll yield soon enough," said Psycho Doughboy. "Nailbunny isn't around to help you through this one. Once our master comes to power, you'll be pleading for mercy, Nny. I guarantee you that. You'll WISH you had killed yourself here…and now. Peace is just one pull of the trigger away."

"Peace…?" Johnny's gaze wandered to the gun on the table. Tess, still in the background of the exchange, could not understand the mechanics of the situation, yet she knew that if Johnny got his hands on that gun, he could kill her as easily as he could kill himself. Adrenaline fueled her, and she spoke strongly, with the feeling that both of their lives hung in the balance.

"Let's just get out of here! You said you weren't going to listen to them…so don't! Cut off their goddamn heads if you have to!" _I must be crazy_, thought Tess after this outburst. _Yelling at two Pillsbury Doughboys and a man who could kill me in an instant…_

As if empowered by Tess, Johnny unsheathed the katana and strode purposefully over to the Doughboys, remaining silent as they talked over one another.

"Kill yourself, you idiot! Your life is worth nothing…so why waste what little you have left!"

"No, no…you have to kill her, and kill everyone else who gets in your way! You know how they've used you, how they've mocked you…"

"You would go to all that trouble, and deprive yourself of the sleep you so rightly deserve? You don't have the guts, Nny…you wouldn't destroy your better judgment."

"My _better judgment_? All you manipulative fucks do is toy me to your own amusement." Johnny was now in front of the Doughboys, the katana inches from Mr. Eff's chest. When he spoke, it was with an icy conviction. "Good thing you can't move yet, or else this would be incredibly taxing. I'll give your master your regards." In one fluid movement, Johnny swung the sword, lobbing off the heads of both Mr. Eff and Psycho Doughboy. Expressions of surprise remained stamped upon the countenances of both as their heads rolled slowly into the corner. Tess stood with mouth open, shocked at this turn of events. Still, the Doughboys were not speaking anymore…perhaps they really were gone.

"You…they're…? They're gone? What the hell are they?"

Sheathing the sword once more, Johnny swept toward the staircase. "Manifestations of a manifestation. Or so they told me. No matter…like I said, I'm taking my life into my own hands, starting right now. I don't fucking care if that monster comes…I'm ready for it."

Tess scurried to keep up with him, her mind full of the strange events that had just taken place. "There's a monster…behind the wall? Wait a minute…maybe they were right, then…"

Johnny stopped on the final stair so abruptly that Tess almost ran into him. They were now on the uppermost landing of the house. Johnny's TV (with rabbit-ear antennae) was visible just over his shoulder.

"Not another word about them. I think…I think if I talk to her…everything will be alright. Yes…you've shown me the way, and I'm glad for it. But I won't be controlled again. Still…you've come at a good time." He made for the door quickly, opening it with a snap and cutting a fearsome figure in the soft light of early morning. Tess shuddered, but followed nonetheless.

"I've come at a good time…? You captured us…in case you forgot." She seemed to be asking a lot of questions and clarifying many things tonight.

"Yes, yes. Of course. But Nailbunny came with the Doughboys, just as you came with that cretin. The good always comes with the bad. Now that Nailbunny is gone, I'm taking control, as I said…choosing what I think is good, doing away with what I think is bad." He gestured towards her again, and stepped out into the slightly humid air.

Tess shuddered again. So Johnny saw her as some kind of prophet…? That would explain why he had not harmed her, and she could believe that he held stock in supernatural influence. In his sick mind, she may have been his answer to the problem of the Doughboys and his springboard out of their demented grasp. But why she had been "chosen," she could only speculate. Johnny's answer waited in the distance, while his ferocious past lurked behind the wall, ready to burst forth at any moment.


	3. Tremors

Note: Nothing too special to note at this moment, actually…I've just been strangely productive in the past few weeks. Hopefully I will be getting these chapters out at a faster pace now that I'm more comfortable with schoolwork and such. As always, thanks for the reviews!

**Chapter Three: Tremors**

Tess shivered as she stepped outside, knowing that it had nothing to do with the weather. In fact, it was a rather warm night, with the stars shining clearly from the cloudless heavens. Johnny walked briskly along, clipping a smart pace from his walkway to the sidewalk alongside the road. She followed in his footsteps, taking in the sad state of his front lawn. Overgrown with weeds and bushes, it did not look inviting.

_Not that he cares anyway_, Tess thought. _I doubt he gets many visitors._

She was now walking almost side-by-side with Johnny. Chancing a glance to her right, she noticed that he looked less stressed out than he had been moments earlier. That ordeal with the Doughboys had seemed ludicrous to her, but Johnny appeared to be freed by it. A small smirk played across his lips as he noticed her staring.

"Good to have those annoying fuckers out of the way, isn't it?"

"Yeah…nothing like it," Tess replied quickly. Though she felt a bit more at ease now, she knew that she had to tread carefully with her comments. "So…Devi. We're going to go see her."

It was more of a statement than a question. Johnny nodded curtly. "That would be the plan. I need to talk to her…we need to reconcile some things. Now that Psycho Doughboy and Mr. Eff are out of the picture, I can do anything. I suppose I should thank you for that."

Tess' eyes widened. He _did_ seem different since their confrontation with the Doughboys. _Perhaps their deaths allowed some of his former sanity to leak back into his being,_ thought Tess. _But wait…who the hell thinks like that? And how do I know he was sane to begin with?_

She coughed uneasily after a few seconds' silence, afraid to leave him to his thoughts. Moreover, she found herself reluctant to linger on her own thoughts as well. A veil seemed to have been lifted from between the two of them since Psycho Doughboy and Mr. Eff had bitten the proverbial dust, and she felt more of a desire to speak with her mysterious captor. "No need to thank me, really. That seemed like a, er…personal issue. Looks like it would have worked itself out that way at any rate."

"Hm. Yeah. I…I don't know. They have been a part of me for as long as I can remember. Now that they're gone…it's interesting to see life from my own perspective, free of their influence. I still have the same…desires…" Here his eyes glinted, the murderous gleam coming back into them again. "But something is holding me back." Tess couldn't help but wonder if her presence had something to do with his sudden change of "heart," but there was no doubt that he could kill again, as easily as he had before.

"Old habits die hard," Tess said almost jokingly. Again, she could not believe that she was making light of the situation. But something told her that Johnny saw her as a kindred spirit of sorts, something like this "Nailbunny" that he had mentioned before.

As she expected, Johnny laughed. It was a cold laughter, but at least he was capable of it. "Yes, that is certainly true. You're catching on, Tess. I still can't believe that you keep company with that imbecile, though. Someone as kind and perceptive as you is hard to find these days."

Startled by this comment, Tess did not know how to respond. Now he was complimenting her. She decided to take this in stride, seeing it as another good sign that she was not likely to die by his hand anytime soon. Dillon, however, would probably not experience this sort of mercy. She felt a twinge of guilt at the thought of her boyfriend. No matter how much of an asshole he had been, she still did not see eye to eye with Johnny on the harshness of his punishment.

"Yeah…I can't remember when I first started hanging out with him. I guess it was because I was new in town and he was the first person I met…I just clung to him and his group of friends. Before I knew it we were dating and I just became…blind to his faults, I suppose." Pouring her heart out to Johnny had not been in Tess' game plan, but neither had her escape from what she assumed was going to be a violent and painful death. She, too, felt different, almost as if she had been "enlightened" by her experience in the house.

"Blind to his faults…" Johnny's voice trailed off, repeating what Tess had said. "Yes…I can see how that could happen. It's generally not a good thing, though. I have found all…most people to be scum."

"But Devi…she was different?"

"Yes…she was kind."

With that statement, Johnny said no more, staring straight ahead with new conviction as he walked. Tess wondered what could have happened between them – surely they hadn't _dated_?

_I suppose I'll find out soon enough_, she thought, exasperated, leading Nny towards downtown, where she assumed Devi would be working. She had no plan of her own as to how the two would meet up – she just hoped that he would see her and do the talking, or whatever it was he "needed" to do. She had stopped questioning his motives, and now that she saw herself in the clear, she felt no need to criticize or question his actions.

They were now coming up to the road that would take them through the downtown area of the city. The bookstore where Devi worked was on the corner of one of the streets that crossed the main road, and Tess had a feeling that they would encounter her soon. A clock on a nearby building read 7:40. The regular business crowd would be arriving at 8:00, and so would the dayshift workers at Dragon Books.

Tess was just about to inform Johnny of this when a high-pitched sqee interrupted her train of thought. The squeal had issued from an alley behind one of the stores on their right. Johnny perked up, his eyes wide and his hand on the hilt of his katana.

"I'd recognize that 'sqee' anywhere! It's…Squee!" Nny shouted, taking off for the alley.

"It's…who?" Tess asked incredulously as she struggled to keep up with Johnny, almost running into him once more as he turned the corner and took in the sight behind the store. A scrawny boy of about seven or eight had his back against the alleyway wall, a tattered teddy bear clutched to his chest. In front of him towered a hulking man, his greasy hair slicked back and his glasses sliding down his nose as he leered at the boy.

"Come on, kid…I won't tell your mommy…just come with me…"

"N-n-no," stuttered the boy. "She told me n-not to talk to st-strangers…"

"Don't make me tell you again, kid-"

"I believe he wants you to leave him alone," said Johnny coldly, cutting the man off mid-sentence. "Don't make ME tell you again." The small boy squeaked, looking from the man in front of him to Johnny. If possible, he seemed more frightened at the arrival of Johnny than at the previous advances of his assailant. The man narrowed his eyes at the thin figure in front of him, obviously unimpressed.

"Who do you think you are, you skinny faggot?"

Tess, hovering in the background once more, realized that they were on the threshold of yet another hostile situation. She had no doubt that the man harassing the little boy was scum, but she would rather avoid a bloodbath if she could. Her hand strayed to the knife at her side, hoping she would not have to use it. Johnny, however, had taken the katana out of its sheath, his dark eyes full of malice. "If you take one more step towards him, I'll gut you."

The man, fueled by his own ignorance, scowled at Johnny and lurched towards the boy, making as if to grab him. Tess knew what was about to happen even as she cried out, knowing it was too late. The boy held up his bear in defense, and Tess gasped, shielding her eyes. There was a swish of air and a grunt of pain from the man, who looked down to find a katana blade protruding from his chest. Johnny pulled the blade back out, leaving the man to fall to the ground, his own blood pooling around him. Tess looked away as nausea overtook her, and Squee stood trembling where he was, absently wiping specks of blood off of his teddy bear.

Sheathing his katana blade, Johnny took on a strangely kind tone as he addressed Squee, kneeling down to pat his shoulder. "There, there, Squee…what were you doing out here all by yourself at this hour? There are bad, bad people around. It's a good thing me and my friend were here to help you. Who knows what might have happened?"

"I…I-I-I didn't w-want to go," Squee stuttered again, almost mechanically. "Shm-Shmee w-wanted t-to go out for a w-w-walk…"

"Well, that wasn't a very good idea. This is the second time a bad man has cornered you, isn't it? I told you not to listen to Shmee. You should listen to what's going on up here." Johnny knocked playfully on Squee's head as he said this. "You'd better come along with us, Squee. Here…" He took his hand and led him over to Tess, who was trying her hardest to keep her attention on Johnny and Squee and not on the dying man on the ground.

"This is my friend Tess. And Tess, this is Squee. He's a good little neighbor boy." Johnny smiled largely, obviously pleased with Squee's presence. Tess assumed that this was because he was innocent and had no idea what went on in the bowels of Johnny's home, but she had a terrible feeling that this was not the first time that Squee had been "saved" in such a manner.

"H-h-hi," Squee muttered. "I h-hope you guys aren't go-going to ch-chop me up. If that's okay."

"Hahaha! Listen to him joke! We were just going to go see an old friend, Squeegee!" Johnny laughed. "Then I'll take you back home." Again with the erratic mood swings. Tess sighed. Just when she thought she had gotten through to him…

"Nice to meet you, Squee," Tess said abruptly. "Now if you don't mind, I think we should all get out of this—"

"WHAT is going on back here?" a female voice shouted from around the corner. "Sounds like someone is…"

"Devi…?" Johnny shouted incredulously as the woman came into view. It was indeed Devi in her work outfit, her hair tied back into pigtails. She used her hand to shield the incoming rays of the sun, squinting to see who had yelled.

When her eyes lit upon Johnny, she leapt backwards, almost as if to run away. "What…what the FUCK are you doing here? You're-you're following me still?"

"No, no, Devi, please listen!" Johnny said, his words tumbling out. "I only want to-to explain…explain what happened that night…the Doughboys aren't here anymore! I'm not tied down to them. And she…" At this, he pointed to Tess, who stood looking between the two of them, perplexed. "She knows you, and she knows me. She can vouch for it. I'm different now. I'm not doing it anymore! I'm not painting the wall!"

"I don't want to hear about your Doughboys, or your walls, or whatever the hell goes on in that fucked up mind of yours!" Devi screamed. "Just keep the HELL away from me!"

"Please, Devi…please hear me out." Tess was shocked to hear Johnny pleading. She could hear the pain in his voice, as if he had been aching to tell her this for a long time now. "We can make it work again, if you just give me another chance…we can be happy…"

"I'm not giving another chance to someone who tried to murder me," Devi replied icily. "It's just not something I do."

"I know this might not help matters," Tess blurted, agitated by the tension between the two and fueled by a strange compassion for Johnny. "But he had the chance to kill me, and he didn't. I have no idea what has been going on between the two of you…but I think he means it."

_Aren't I just the voice of reason today?_ Tess thought wryly to herself.

Devi glanced from Squee to Johnny to Tess. Her eyes were still wide with shock and anger, but her stance had slackened a bit now that she realized that there was no immediate danger. "Well...I have no idea what you're doing with this guy, Tess…but for you to come out so far unscathed is a good sign. Let's just say that Nny and I had a date that didn't exactly have a happy ending."

Johnny glanced at her, his eyes soft. He seemed taken aback by her use of his nickname, though her words were harsh. Tess shrugged. "It's a long story on both sides, I guess." At that moment, Squee squealed, his glance flicking between the three adults and the dead man behind him.

Distracted, Devi craned her head, trying to see around Johnny, who had conveniently placed himself in front of the body of Squee's assaultor. "What's behind that kid…?"

Johnny waved his hands, glancing thankfully in Tess' direction. "Nothing, nothing…can't we just…"

Suddenly, Devi clapped her hands to her mouth, realizing what lay behind Johnny and Squee. Her cry was drowned out, however, by blood-curdling roar that reverberated in the bodies of the three present. It was a terrible, unearthly sound.

Johnny looked petrified. It was as if everything that had just transpired had never happened. Squee trembled, but Johnny stared ahead with a blank look on his face, as if he had expected this somehow. Everyone stared at Johnny, even Devi, who seemed at a loss for words. Tess, too, was terrified by Johnny's expression, and she shuddered at her next inquiry.

"What in the hell was THAT?"

Johnny gulped. "That would be my house."


	4. Dies Irae

Note: Thanks for all of the positive reviews, guys! Really is a nice boost to the old self-esteem. Here's the next part…

**Chapter Four: Dies Irae**

In the silence that followed Johnny's grave announcement, Tess glanced from him, to Squee, to Devi, and finally to the dead man sprawled on his back in the alley. She had no idea what to think. All she knew was that whatever happened next would not be good.

Johnny pulled his katana out again. "We have to go back."

Everyone looked at him like they had been slapped in the face. Devi's face was pale, but she did not speak. Her fear of the monster had momentarily overcome her disgust at the sight of the corpse behind Johnny and Squee.

Tess seemed to be the only one with the ability to communicate verbally at that moment. Eyes wide, she shouted at Johnny as he trudged mechanically past them, heading back in the direction of his house. "Go back? Are you insane? When it sounds like the demons of hell have erupted from your home?"

"They have," Johnny said simply. "Are you going to help me fight them or not?"

"Fight them…? I can't believe you!" she yelled back. "I don't even know what's going on…don't you keep them behind that…that wall, or whatever?"

"Yes, but it seems like my actions have displeased the…powers that be as of late," Johnny said with a slight nod to the sky. "You better believe something is controlling those things…or that thing."

"W-won't the cops see that thing, though? Won't EVERYONE see it, whatever it is?"

The tall young man stopped, looking over his shoulder with that pitying glance once more. "No. I know they won't. I'm the only one who can stop it. We're the only ones who can stop it. So…let's get going."

"So let me get this straight…this is because you defied them by not painting the wall, and following me…listening to my advice," Tess said as calmly as she could under the circumstances. The day's events had taught her Zen-like tranquility.

Johnny bobbed his head in a nod. "Seems like it. Now it's time to face my demons, as it were."

Tess sighed. There was no getting through to him, or getting him to explain anything in great detail. He was set in his ways, but she felt that he was on to something. She was scared to death, but the look in his eye was determined, forceful. "There really is no stopping you…" She walked off after Johnny, beckoning for Tess and Devi to follow. Devi ushered Squee in front of her, her eyes twitching strangely as she took in all that was happening.

"Are…are we going to be alright?" Devi managed to gasp, listening to the roars of the creature as they neared Johnny's house. "God…I never thought I'd go back there again." Squee's face appeared to be frozen, still clutching Shmee to his chest, his eyes staring blankly ahead.

Flinching at the grating screeches of the monster, Tess shook her head, resigned. "I hope so, Devi. I really do."

Backtracking had taken much less time than they had hoped it would. And, just as Johnny had predicted, the citizens who should have heard the roars were nowhere to be seen. The city seemed to be completely deserted. Tess and Devi held their breaths as they drew within view of Johnny's yard; they were expecting to be attacked by some weird alien force at any second.

The sight that greeted them was strange, yet not outright frightening. Johnny's house was a shambles, completely broken down. A gaping hole now yawned from where the foundation of Johnny's house had stood, some futile boards still hanging over the abyss. His yard was littered with wood, utensils, and random household appliances. For some reason the roaring and screeching had ceased, allowing Devi a sigh of relief. Tess, however, felt no clam in the eerie silence.

It happened almost immediately, with no time for anyone to think. A grotesque tentacle, covered in slime and small dagger-like thorns, erupted from the hole, aiming straight for Johnny. Leaping deftly out of the way, as if he was the only one who had expected it, Johnny twirled, expertly lopping the tentacle in two. It was like a replay of his "decapitations" of Mr. Eff and Psycho Doughboy: he was in his element.

The tentacle flopped to the ground, moving no more. The half that was still attached to whatever lurked in the depths of the hole slithered back to rejoin its body, if it had one. Johnny looked to Tess again, his eyes frantic, his breath ragged. "Get…get your knife out. More are coming."

Shaking uncontrollably, Tess managed to remove her knife from its sheath. It had seemed bigger before, but faced with this unspeakable monster, she felt incredibly weak. She was so terrified that no scream could force itself from her throat; Devi appeared to be in the same condition. She just held Squee close to her, the little boy appearing more like a statue than a human child. He was not quivering with fright; in fact, he looked rather calm. He stared at the abyss from where the monster had come, and then he looked knowingly at Johnny.

Tess had no time to ponder Squee's behavior, as a low rumble was coming from the hole. "What the fuck did I do to deserve this?" Tess croaked.

As if on cue, a hellish amalgamation of tentacles, claws, and randomly assorted appendages spilled forth, as the creature from behind the wall attacked in full force. The monster had no physical "body" of any sort: it seemed to be comprised of shifting parts that moved faster than one could identify them. The tentacles reared thirty feet into the air, slamming down inches from where Johnny and Tess stood.

Clutched in the tentacle that had landed next to her, Tess could make out what looked like Dillon's body, maimed almost beyond recognition. Screaming in horror and anguish, Tess lashed out with the knife, chopping three of the tentacles in half. The monster cried in pain, and the group's proximity to its wailing caused them to clap their hands to their ears instinctively. Tess's eyes teared up as the sound waves echoed through her brain, causing her head to pound incessantly.

"It's trying to paralyze us!" shrieked Johnny, blood pouring from his ears. He swung his katana, severing a few of the tentacles closest to the 'core" of the creature. "Just…keep…going!"

Galvanized by Johnny's words, Tess attacked with renewed vigor, slicing through the tendons of the creature, its howling mixing with Johnny's shouts, Devi's screams…her sight becoming blurred with blood, sweat, and her own fatigue…

She felt something slam into her side, piercing her skin and knocking her to the ground. Coughing up blood, she thought for sure that she had just been killed, that the creature would pull her straight into hell, or Johnny's basement, though the two were close enough…

She lay there for a short while, trying to breathe, feeling her side to see how much blood she was losing. To her great relief, it didn't seem to be as much as she had first thought…but she was fading fast…the pain was unbearable.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw one of the tentacles wrap itself firmly around Johnny and drag him slowly into the hole, his shrieking being the most frightening thing that Tess had heard that day by far…

As Johnny disappeared over the rim of the abyss, Tess braced herself for the finishing blow. Surely she would be ripped apart, cut in half, dragged into the ruined house as well…but nothing happened. The creature disappeared along with Johnny, leaving her laying there along with Devi and Squee, lost for words. But no…Squee was murmuring something…Tess felt herself slipping into blackness…she was sick of fighting. But why…why did the monster leave her? Why did it not kill them all?

Tess did not want to think any longer. With one last gasp of pain, the darkness enveloped her and she lost conscious completely.

_So…that was a little shorter than the others, but hey. Crazy shit is going on, I suppose you could say. I'm planning on explaining everything in the next chapter…dun dun dunn. Stay tuned._


	5. El Diablo y La Resurrección

**Note: Last chapter, guys. Thanks for sticking with me through it all. I took some liberties with the plot to make everything fit together, but I hope you're satisfied nonetheless. Enjoy, and as always, comment!**

**Chapter Five: El Diablo**** y La Resurrección**

"Johnny…"

Johnny's head pounded, but the soft voice had stirred him. He had been lying there unconscious for quite some time, he knew. But why was he still alive? The last thing he remembered was being dragged into hell by the wall monster.

"Johnny…"

A little louder this time. Propping himself up on his elbows, Johnny opened his eyes, one hand clasped to his head to ease the pain. He gasped to see that he seemed to be in total darkness, yet he could make himself out perfectly. It was as if he had been thrown into a pitch black room with some glowing light around him, allowing himself alone to appear visible.

"What the hell is this? Show yourself, whoever the fuck you are!" Johnny shouted, exasperated.

"Good. You're finally awake, Nny." The owner of the voice swept into view, and Johnny had the sinking suspicion that he had seen this being before, in his dreams, perhaps…What stood in front of Johnny now was what most people would call "the devil." Tall and lanky, it was a skeleton clothed in black garb, a cape sweeping across the non-existent plane of the strange realm. Dark, hooded lashes stood out where its eyes would be, and horns curled from the back of its skull to the sides of its "face." Altogether, the being was not entirely grotesque-looking. Compared with the wall monster, it was almost exquisite, beautiful. But the devil did not bode well with Johnny, who felt that this creature had a terrifying amount of control over his current situation. And Johnny did not like to feel powerless.

"You've been wondering why you're here, why you're alive. Good questions all, and quite easy to answer, in fact. You are very confused right now, and no wonder…" The devil's voice was soft and soothing, with a twinge of suppressed sadness.

Johnny stood up, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "You can read my mind? Eh, well…of course you can. I'm, uh…I'm Johnny. And you already knew that."

"Oh, how rude of me," the devil said abruptly, snapping his hand out. "I am the devil, El Diablo, Satan…whichever name you would like to use. I'm not picky." Johnny took the bony hand reluctantly, giving it a firm shake before releasing it. The hand had been icy and cold, and now Nny felt the same chill pass through him.

Satan stood back, and Johnny noticed that whenever he moved, a small smoke cloud followed, billowing up from beneath his robes. He did not know whether to laugh or remain silent; it was strange for the ultimate evil to behave so cordially towards its subjects. But Johnny did not argue; Satan obviously had news for him.

"You want to know why you're alive, I presume," Satan said. Johnny nodded curtly. "Well…it's all because of the young one. The one you call Squee."

Cocking his head, Johnny's mouth gaped. "Squee? Squee is the one who protected us?"

"Yes. You think that meeting him at that time was completely coincidental? It is a combination of your three companions, really, that saved you from the wall monster. I rather expect you would have been torn apart if they had not all been there, but then of course, you never would have faced the creature had it not been for them. You see…they represent all that is good, all that the creature despises. Squee just happened to be a purer representation of that good will…innocence."

"Innocence?" Johnny was truly shocked now.

A smile tugged at Satan's lips. "He is young and has experienced little of the world around him, even with you living next door. Schmee, his teddy bear, knew that his presence would not allow the wall monster to annihilate any of you. I suspect that is why he remained so calm when it attacked. I should know, since I informed Schmee of this."

"Then…then we were able to attack the wall monster because of Squee…and we were also saved because of him," Johnny said, trying to piece together all that he was learning. "We owe him our lives…"

"Oh, not quite," said Satan, holding up a long bony finger. "Squee's innocence made it impossible for the wall monster to _kill _you, yes. Devi and Tess' presence made the monster tangible. You see…they represent, in your life, love and friendship. The wall monster, pitted against all three of those wills, was defenseless, and you were actually able to harm _it_."

Johnny smirked, allowing himself a sardonic chuckle. "You know, I hate to say it in the midst of all this, but…love, innocence, friendship? It's all so goddamn hokey. Sorry, Satan, but I can't believe that the monster was actually affected by that."

Satan actually laughed at this, though his laugh was rather cold and high-pitched, quite like Johnny's had been. But unlike Johnny's had been earlier, it was full of mirth, genuine. "I did not make the rules. You can blame God for that one. You could say that the wall monster is the only creature that can be hurt by ideas…but that is because the monster is itself a manifestation of ideas, of hatred, greed, corruption, and all that is evil and rotten in the human soul. If Devi, Tess, and Squee had not been there, the creature surely would have ripped you all apart."

Johnny rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Encouraging thought. We held our own, though. You have to admit that."

"You certainly did. Against such a formidable creature, too…you know, God and I thought that one up on one of our lunch breaks. God can be rather cruel when he wants to be."

Johnny closed one eye, looking at Satan skeptically. "I thought you were in charge of the cruel stuff."

"Oh, no. That's God's doing. Sure, I am in _charge_ of all evil and malice, but God is the one who chose me for the job. He didn't say I had to be a jerk to my subjects."

"I was going to say. You're rather polite for the ultimate evil."

"I appreciate that. But where were we? I think…"

Johnny interrupted Satan, although not rudely. "I think we were talking about why the hell this happened. I get why the monster didn't kill us…speaking of which, where are those three? Are they alright?"

Satan could sense the urgency in Johnny's voice, and looked at him half-pityingly. "They are fine," he said dismissively. "When I realized that the wall monster could not hurt you and that you had indeed passed our test, I ordered it to bring you down here. I'm sorry if it was a little rough with you."

Now Johnny glared at Satan. This information rubbed him the wrong way. "What test?"

Satan sighed. He knew it would eventually come to this. "God and I selected you for a purpose…to become a 'waste lock,' a check on the world's evil. You would kill bad people and paint the wall, and the wall monster would remain happy...so you were told by the Doughboys. You would be expected to go through with this your entire mortal life…unless you showed remorse. Your remorse and, dare I say it, your beginning friendship with Tess allowed you to meet Squee and Devi again. It also allowed you to kill the Doughboys, which in turn let you think freely once more. You were free from their chains, and now you are free from the chains of the wall monster. Do you understand me, Johnny? You have _freedom_. _Libertad_. You do not have to kill anymore."

Satan let this sink in. Johnny slumped to the floor, completely overcome. He was torn between those two new emotions: fear and happiness. There was also an overwhelming sense of anger at having been duped, having been _controlled_ by these beings…but, as Satan had said, he had freedom. He had overcome even their control, and now he had power over his own life. He had the power to choose.

"So…it all started with Tess…I owe her so much. Let me go back, let me talk to them…to her, at least." Tears had begun to trickle down his cheeks.

"I am going to send you back...and you can talk to them," said Satan softly. "But that is all you can do, Johnny…because their memories of you have been wiped. Tess, Devi, Squee…they do not know you exist. So whether their memories of you have been good, bad, or somewhere in between…it does not matter. They will have no recollection of you, or the events of the past day."

Shocked, Johnny looked up at him. Should he be sad…happy? Did this give him new freedom? He stood up and looked straight into Satan's eyes.

"What will happen now? When you send me back, will there be a new…me? A new waste lock?" Johnny spat the last two words out as if they were something vile on his tongue. He hated both God and Satan for doing this to him…but now Satan had given him something even greater than his freedom…even greater than this new feeling of control…

A clean slate.

Satan smiled sadly at him, aware of what he was thinking. "Yes. I'm afraid that we will require someone else's…services in that area. It is necessary to keep the world from becoming overwhelmed with…what you might call 'bad juju.' But like I said…it cannot be helped. I am going to send you back now. Are you prepared…are you satisfied? This is the least I can do for the first waste lock that has shown remorse."

Johnny grinned at this comment. "Go ahead, send me back. And Satan…even though I feel I do not owe this to you…thank you."

The devil closed his eyes, smiling. "_De nada_, Johnny. I'll see you in the afterlife." He snapped his fingers.

With a flash of white light, Johnny was rocketed out of Satan's black realm, and before he knew it, he had hit solid ground. He shook his head again, and then stood upright, getting used to the feeling of something firm beneath him once more. Glancing left and right, he found that he was in…in front of his house, though it looked nothing like he remembered. It was completely rebuilt, and did not look dilapidated or out of use in the least. It looked as if he had just moved in…

Johnny could tell that morning had broken, as birds were singing and a fresh warm breeze had wafted lightly by him. He decided that the first thing he should do with his newfound freedom would be to head to Dragon Books…he was in the mood for a good read…and maybe to meet some new people.

Johnny let loose an uncharacteristic laugh as he walked downtown. It echoed Satan's laugh: completely mirthful, unbound. Johnny was free. So ironic to think that the devil had granted him such a boon…though he realized that he must make a mental note to thank Tess profusely whenever he came across her again. Surely she would not know who he was or why he was talking to her…but it would be worth it.

As the sun rose, Johnny set out to begin his new life.

**El Fin**


End file.
